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Pead E, Thompson AC, Grewal DS, McGrory S, Robbins CB, Ma JP, Johnson KG, Liu AJ, Hamid C, Trucco E, Ritchie CW, Muniz G, Lengyel I, Dhillon B, Fekrat S, MacGillivray T. Retinal Vascular Changes in Alzheimer's Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study Using Ultra-Widefield Imaging. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2023; 12:13. [PMID: 36622689 PMCID: PMC9838583 DOI: 10.1167/tvst.12.1.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Retinal microvascular abnormalities measured on retinal images are a potential source of prognostic biomarkers of vascular changes in the neurodegenerating brain. We assessed the presence of these abnormalities in Alzheimer's dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using ultra-widefield (UWF) retinal imaging. Methods UWF images from 103 participants (28 with Alzheimer's dementia, 30 with MCI, and 45 with normal cognition) underwent analysis to quantify measures of retinal vascular branching complexity, width, and tortuosity. Results Participants with Alzheimer's dementia displayed increased vessel branching in the midperipheral retina and increased arteriolar thinning. Participants with MCI displayed increased rates of arteriolar and venular thinning and a trend for decreased vessel branching. Conclusions Statistically significant differences in the retinal vasculature in peripheral regions of the retina were observed among the distinct cognitive stages. However, larger studies are required to establish the clinical importance of our findings. UWF imaging may be a promising modality to assess a larger view of the retinal vasculature to uncover retinal changes in Alzheimer's disease. Translational Relevance This pilot work reports an investigation into which retinal vasculature measurements may be useful surrogate measures of cognitive decline, as well as technical developments (e.g., measurement standardization), that are first required to establish their recommended use and translational potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Pead
- VAMPIRE Project, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Atalie C. Thompson
- Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Dilraj S. Grewal
- Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sarah McGrory
- VAMPIRE Project, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Cason B. Robbins
- Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Justin P. Ma
- Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kim G. Johnson
- Department of Neurology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Andy J. Liu
- Department of Neurology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Charlene Hamid
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Emanuele Trucco
- VAMPIRE Project, Computer Vision and Image Processing, Computing (SSE), The University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Craig W. Ritchie
- Edinburgh Dementia Prevention, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Graciela Muniz
- Department of Social Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
| | - Imre Lengyel
- The Welcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine Dentistry and Biomedical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Baljean Dhillon
- VAMPIRE Project, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK,Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sharon Fekrat
- Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Tom MacGillivray
- VAMPIRE Project, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Or C, Sabrosa AS, Sorour O, Arya M, Waheed N. Use of OCTA, FA, and Ultra-Widefield Imaging in Quantifying Retinal Ischemia: A Review. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila) 2018; 7:46-51. [PMID: 29436208 DOI: 10.22608/apo.201812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
As ischemia remains a key prognostic factor in the management of various diseases including diabetic retinopathy, an increasing amount of research has been dedicated to its quantification as a potential biomarker. Advancements in the quantification of retinal ischemia have been made with the imaging modalities of fluorescein angiography (FA), ultra-widefield imaging (UWF), and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), with each imaging modality offering certain benefits over the others. FA remains the gold standard in assessing the extent of ischemia. UWF imaging has allowed for the assessment of peripheral ischemia via FA. It is, however, OCTA that offers the best visualization of retinal vasculature with its noninvasive depth-resolved imaging and therefore has the potential to become a mainstay in the assessment of retinal ischemia. The primary purpose of this article is to review the use of FA, UWF, and OCTA to quantify retinal ischemia and the various methods described in the literature by which this is achieved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Or
- New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Almyr S Sabrosa
- New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
- Institute Ophthalmology Rio de Janeiro/Hospital da Gamboa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Osama Sorour
- New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Malvika Arya
- New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Nadia Waheed
- New England Eye Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
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